The word Communalism comes from word communal which means something related to a community or collectively as different from an individual.

In common words communalism can be stated as aggressive chauvinism based on religious identity.

Communalism is a by-product of socio, economic phenomena. It appears when people try to combat socio economic problems without knowing the real reasons.

Communalism is based on the assumption that Indian society is divided into religious communities whose interests not only differ but are even opposed to each other. Communalism starts with the belief that in India people can be organised and grouped together for secular, that is, economic and political as also social and cultural purposes, only around their religious identities. 

Communalism came as the evil by product of secularism as the shadow delineating the limits of modernism. The shadow is especially evident, not amongst the elite but amongst the poor and the middle class, who bear brunt of it.

The history of communalism in India can be divided in two parts:

1. The pre-Independent
2. Post Independent

In areas of employment, education, and so on, the British preferred Hindus over Muslims after the 1857 Revolt.

Muslim thinkers, too, recognised that Muslims trailed behind Hindus in terms of education, government posts, and other areas.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a Muslim thinker, eventually founded Aligarh College to combat Muslim prejudice towards modern education. In the 1860s, he founded a number of scientific groups that included Hindus and Muslims.

Communalism in India gained its roots in the 1880s, when Syed Ahmed Khan opposed the Indian National Congress's national project. He chose to support British causes and opposed the functioning of the Indian National Congress, which he saw as a pro-Hindu, anti-Muslim party.

To unite Muslim interests, important Muslim leaders such as Aga Khan and others created the All-India Muslim League. One of its main goals was to prevent Muslims from joining the Congress's rising intelligentsia.

At the same time, Hindu communalism was forming. It took the form of Hindu leaders spreading ideas of dictatorial Muslim rule, as well as endorsing the language issue and giving it a communal spin. They declared Urdu to be the Muslim language and Hindi to be the Hindu language. Furthermore, in the 1890s, anti-cow slaughter propaganda was launched, aimed particularly at Muslims.

Organizations such as the Punjab Hindu Sabha (1909), the All India Hindu Mahasabha (1st session in 1915), and others were eventually formed.

Communalist impulses were bolstered by revivalist groups such as the Arya Samaj, Shuddhi Movement (among Hindus), Wahabi Movement, Tanzeem and Tabligh movements (among Muslims), and others.

Through administrative decisions and practises like as the division of Bengal, Morley-Minto reforms (1909- Separate electorates), Communal Award (1932), and others, the British fueled the communalist divide.

After 1937, India had intense communalism based on fear, madness, and irrationality. During this time, Hindu and Muslim interests were seen to be permanently at odds.

Communalism grew in popularity among urban lower middle-class people, resulting in large movements centred on aggressive, radical communal politics.

Communalism also became the colonial authorities' only political weapon in their divide-and-rule tactic. 

In India, colonialism is seen as a major cause in the rise of communalism.

However, removing colonial rule proved to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for combating communism.

Because, as previously said, communalism survived even after independence due to a variety of circumstances. Communalism has posed the greatest threat to our country's secular structure.

Major Incidents of Communal violence in Post Independent India

1. Nellie Massacre (1983): Around a thousand Assamese people besieged the Nellie village with deadly weapons. The village's minority population was attacked, resulting in the official death of 1800 individuals. The "original residents" of Assam used the battles to evict "outsiders" in order to protect their land, language, and ethnicity.
2. Anti-Sikh riots (1984): Following the assassination of the then-Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, a huge number of Sikhs were slain by mobs.
3. Kashmiri Hindu pundits' issue (1989): During 1989-90, the spread of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism in Kashmir resulted in mass deaths and a large-scale exodus of Kashmiri intelligentsia. Communal unrest continues to menace the region.
4. Babri Masjid incident (1992): A massive throng of Hindu kar sevaks demolished the 16th century Babri masjid (mosque) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, claiming the site to be Ram Janmabhoomi (birthplace of Ram). This resulted in months of intercommunal riots between Hindus and Muslims, with hundreds of people killed.
5. Godhra Riots (2002): Four coaches of the Sabarmati Express were set on fire in February 2002. The passengers were largely Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, where they had attended a religious event at the demolished Babri Masjid. Following the attacks, numerous Hindu organisations in Gujarat declared a state-wide bandh and began indiscriminately assaulting Muslim settlements. Following the Godhra tragedy, this continued for months, resulting in the deaths and displacement of thousands of Muslims.
6. Assam violence (2012): Due to rising struggle for livelihood, land, and political influence, there were frequent conflicts between the Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam. Unidentified miscreants killed four Bodo teenagers at Joypur in Kokhrajhar in 2012, escalating the outbreak into a riot. Retaliatory attacks on local Muslims occurred, killing two and injuring several others. Almost 80 people were killed, the majority of whom were Bengali Muslims, with a few Bodos thrown in for good measure. 400,000 people were displaced and forced to live in temporary settlements.
7. Muzzafarnagar Riots (2013): In Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, conflicts between Hindu Jats and Muslim communities resulted in at least 62 deaths, 93 injuries, and more than 50,000 people displaced. The incident was described as "the worst violence in recent history in Uttar Pradesh," with the army being deployed in the state for the first time in 20 years.
8. Beef consumption, lynching, and deaths: Beef consumption and transportation in India has been a difficult topic, resulting in communal breakouts in several sections of the country. According to an IndiaSpend content analysis, Muslims were the focus of 51 percent of violence centred on bovine concerns during nearly eight years (2010 to 2017), accounting for 86 percent of the 28 Indians slain in 63 incidents.
9. Ghar Wapsi programmes: These are a series of religious conversion activities organised by Hindu organisations in India, such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to help non-Hindus convert to Hinduism. While the organisers claimed that people came forward to convert to Hinduism on their own volition, some participants reported that they were coerced to do so. In addition, the threat of 'Love Jihad' for interfaith weddings has been raised.
10. The 2020 Delhi Riots: Delhi had its first big riot between Hindu and Muslim populations since 1984 in the year 2020. 53 persons were killed in a wave of carnage, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi.

Communalism is menace to democratic fabric of our country. It is single biggest threat to ideals enshrined in Indian constitution.

Dealing with communalism is to be a two-way phenomenon, one curative that is short term and another preventive that is long term. Paragraphs below discusses the both.

1.   Short term apporaches

By developing a secular culture, such as celebrating each other's religious festivals, various religious groups can build solidarity and integration at many levels in society, such as the workplace, neighbourhood, and so on.

Rapid and rapid response to radicalization on social media by a militant group, including police action, counselling sessions for individuals radicalised, particularly adolescents, and so on.

Using institutional institutions such as the Election Commission, the media, and civil society to ensure that political parties do not use religion or religious ideology to obtain votes.

Inter-religious marriages between two consenting individuals should not be interpreted as a "love jihad issue" and should not be publicised. As a result, media personnel should be educated on the subject. 

Mobs leading communal disturbances should be kept under control, and strong measures taken against them as a deterrent.

Religious leaders can play a significant role in disseminating ideas about religion, philosophy, and other topics that can aid in the spread of peace across various cultures.

To placate the majority, the government should not prohibit minority practises.

In order to promote religious unity and peace, the media, cinema, and other powerful tools should be used.

The rise of social media, as well as the real-time distribution of fake news, should be addressed in a timely manner.

 2. Long-Term Approaches

Parliament should enact strict anti-communal violence legislation. Because of the flaws in the  legislation, politicians and other powerful people have gotten away with openly instigating communal violence.

Communal riots should be investigated by the CBI or a separate investigating agency within a set time frame. In addition, special courts should handle such cases to ensure that victims receive justice quickly.

Police and other law enforcement agencies should be held accountable since they occasionally give in to political pressure and remain passive during communal violence and its aftermath, such as when filing FIRs, detaining suspects, and issuing charge sheets. As a result, legal measures must be enacted to hold them accountable for quick action.

Religious seclusion enhances communal identities and fosters unfavourable views of other religious groups, therefore pluralistic settlements where members of different communities live together should be encouraged by reducing existing barriers.

The development of an Equal Opportunities Commission to deal with allegations of intolerance and exclusion was recommended in the Sachar Committee report on the situation of Indian Muslims.

All educational institutions should provide secular education, which will lead to the development of harmony and cooperation among members of various communities.

History education should be de-communalized, as the current categorization of Indian history into ancient, mediaeval, and modern periods has effectively split history into the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian periods, contributing to communal thinking. As a result, there is a perception that India is a Hindu country that has been 'invaded' by Muslims and Christians.

Increased job prospects for minorities may lead to a reduction in communal strife. As a result, many programmes and activities should be focused on skilling individuals of minority communities.

To ensure uniformity in personal laws, a Uniform Civil Code should be established and implemented with the agreement of all religious communities.